UFC has added further talent from Ireland to their roster, with their most recent acquisition being Kiefer Crosbie.
Crosbie has been one of the highest-profile Irish stars in recent years and spent time in Europe carving a name for himself before joining Bellator. Under the promotions’ banner, Crosbie fought 7 times and amassed a 4-3 record.
A fighter who has fought at welterweight and lightweight during his career, Crosbie has garnered a reputation for himself for being involved in some of the bloodiest and most vicious brawls possible. His one-round war with Josh Plant was particularly memorable.
Despite possessing a love for striking and brawling on the feet Crosbie possesses considerable skill on the ground and has finished several fights via submission. Out of his 10 wins, 7 have come by way of either KO or submission. His record is stained by 3 losses — one of these was a disqualification due to an illegal knee and the other a doctor’s stoppage. This means that Crosbie has only ever actually been finished once in his career. This came via submission against MMA veteran Georgi Karakhanyan.
His most recent fight that likely brought him to the attention of the UFC brass was an extremely impressive display against a UFC veteran. Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira and Crosbie squared off earlier this year in Porto, Portugal at RISE Fighting Championships. Oliveira is a veteran fighter who spent 7 years in the UFC fighting the best names the sport offers. Not fazed by the task at hand and knowing that a dominant performance would do more for his career than ever before, Crosbie demolished “Cowboy” with a KO finish in the very first round.
It is likely that this disposal of a former UFC regular and stalwart of the welterweight division is what put Crosbie on the radar of the UFC, alongside the fact that they have recently begun to make use of the growing Irish pool of talent in MMA.
With this resurgence headed by the likes of Ian Garry, Crosbie becomes the 6th Irish fighter to be employed by MMA’s premier organization. Joining the likes of Ian Garry, Conor McGregor, Shauna Bannon, Rhys McKee and Caolan Loughran. Fans will not have to wait long for Crosbie to make his first appearance in the Octagon either, with the Irishman expected to make his debut in a little over 2 weeks at UFC 293 in Sydney Australia. He will be fighting Kevin Jousset, a welterweight who is currently on a three-fight winning streak also making his debut with the promotion. Jousset fights out of Australia and will undoubtedly have the home advantage and crowd behind him. Crosbie will be more than up for the challenge however knowing that this will be the biggest fight of his life.
A dominant performance will surely have the UFC licking their lips at the prospect of adding another Irish star to their roster and would surely help fast-track a UFC Dublin show if Crosbie enjoys the same popularity as his countrymen have.
